Odds and Ends to finish the week

A mixture of typical Autumn weather over the last few days has seen warm sunshine and blue skies,  showery rain,  blustery winds and even a frost this morning.  The temperature has certainly dropped a few degrees and I even had to dig out my warm coat and gloves today.   Hopefully I have managed to give the lawns their last cut of the year and have put the lawn mower to bed.    The farmers have certainly been very busy around us and most of the fields have been newly ploughed.  I  love the smell of freshly ploughed earth. The ploughing activity has certainly attracted the birds. This afternoon there were a "kettle " of Red Kites over the fields along with numerous Common Buzzards standing around, a mixture of Corvids, Gulls and Pied Wagtails.  A couple of days ago there was even a Northern Wheatear on the fields.                                                  Due to various reasons my birding has been limited.  A couple of days ago the area around shrike hedge/blueberry was really busy with birds including 4 Stonechats,  2 Bramblings and large numbers of Skylarks and other passerines but today it was really quiet.   Harrington Airfield seems to mirror this too with 2 pairs Stonechats and 3 Bramblings a couple of days ago but today I could only find one pair of Stonechat and a Crossbill and 25 Golden Plovers flew over.

On Wednesday there was a late Swallow at Boddington Reservoir,  a Water Pipit and 3 Glossy Ibis at Summer Leys,  Caspian Gull at Naseby Reservoir,  2 drake Red Crested Pochards at Daventry Reservoir and a female at Ravensthorpe Reservoir.  A juvenile Whooper Swan was at Pitsford Reservoir and 2 other Whoopers at Stanford Reservoir.                                                                                            Yesterday a Firecrest was found at Boddington Reservoir, but not seen subsequently.  A Norwegian ringed Greenshank was at Summer Leys along with the 3 Glossy Ibis whilst over at Pitsford Reservoir Caspian and Yellow Legged Gull,  Ruff,Dunlin,  Green Sandpipers,  2 Stonechats and 15 Pintail.                                                                                    Today there was a Ring Ouzel on a private site at Long Buckby, 2 Bitterns at Stanford Reservoir,  Merlin at Boddington Reservoir and the Pectoral Sandpiper at Hollowell Reservoir which can be elusive at times as it hides in the vegetation. 

Have a good weekend and don't forget to put your clocks back an hour !!

Regards Eleanor